develop a general understanding of the principles of ethical and professional responsibility as they apply to the roles of lawyers and paralegals; and

combine legal theory and practical skills so that the graduate can fully assist the lawyer in the practice of law.

Program Description:

General Education Policy

The certificate in Paralegal Studies is designed for students who have an A.A., A.S., A.A.S.*, or baccalaureate degree and would like to start a career as a paralegal. Previous degree must have at least 18 semester credits of general education course work and must meet certain requirements for writing proficiency, oral communication skills, and breadth of study.

Paralegals may not provide legal services directly to the public, except as permitted by law.

* A.A.S. students must consult the Department Chair.

Transfer Credit Policy

It is the policy of the Legal Studies program to accept legal specialty transfer credits from accredited institutions, subject to the following provisions.

First, degree and certificate seeking students must complete a minimum of 12 legal specialty credits at CCBC. For degree seeking students, the overall amount of transfer credits must also comply with the CCBC policy that a degree student must earn 31 credits in a program at CCBC or complete the final 15 credits of a curriculum at CCBC. For certificate seeking students, CCBC will accept a maximum of 16 legal specialty transfer credits. Consideration for transfer credit will only be given to courses in which the student earned a grade of C or better.

Second, students seeking to transfer legal specialty credits must meet with a Legal Studies Program Coordinator or the Department Chair. The student must provide an official transcript listing the legal specialty course, the date the course was taken, the grade earned, and the number of credits received for the course. Credits earned for prior learning or by examination will not be accepted for transfer of legal specialty credits. The student must also provide a catalog description and/or a course syllabus, which indicates the format in which the course was taken (accelerated, traditional, hybrid, on-line, independent study, etc.), and be able to discuss the goals and objectives completed during the course. For legal specialty courses completed online, transfer will also be subject to the student verifying that they have or will be completing a minimum of 10 credits of legal specialty coursework through traditional classroom instruction.

If it is determined that the course is sufficiently similar to a legal specialty course in the CCBC program and all of the foregoing requirements are met, the program coordinator will notify the CCBC Records and Registration Office to accept the transferred course as a substitute for the legal specialty course. Legal specialty courses are identified in this publication with an asterisk (*).